As the Obama administration enters its homestretch, the scientific community looks back on the president’s eight years in office and evaluates scientific progress made during that time. While bold initiatives to cure cancer, map the human brain and create personalized medicine were steps in the right direction, lack of increased funding for the National Institutes of Health may define the Obama administration’s influence on healthcare and biomedical research.

As diagnosed cases of domestically contracted Zika virus rise in the continental U.S., the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Anthony Fauci, warns of possible virus migration along the Gulf Coast, including parts of Texas and Louisiana. However, Fauci believes this will not turn into an “outbreak” scenario even though complete eradication of the disease will not be feasible for some time. Vaccine development remains at the forefront of Zika research but testing potential vaccines in humans poses unique issues. Progress in research continues, but Congress continues to deny emergency funding. The lack of approved emergency funds has the science community worried that vaccine development will be delayed. Recently, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton vowed that, if elected, she would set up a public-health emergency fund to prevent funding issues during future pandemics.